Girringun

On the way to Cairns, we stopped in Cardwell, at the Girringun Aboriginal Cultural Centre. We just dropped in on these folks, but they were wonderfully hospitable, and we had a terrific discussion about some of the key issues in Aboriginal affairs today.


This map shows the language groups and territory covered by Girringun. The Girringun Aboriginal Corporation represents between 5000 and 7000 people from nine different language groups in this rainforest region, from north of Townsville to south of Cairns.

The regions is a TUMRA, a traditional use marine resources area. One of the complexity faced by these communities--which is similar to situations in other Aboriginal communities today--relates to use of natural resources. (As you know, this is a keen interest of mine, so I was thrilled to be able to talk with them about this and really dive into the issue.) The communities here have voluntarily halted hunting of one of their traditional and ceremonial foods, the dugong (also know as a manatee, or a sea cow), in order to manage the populations sustainably for the future. 'White' fisherman are compensated by the government for not taking these resources, but the Aboriginal fisherman are not. Somehow, it falls into the "too difficult" category, both of measuring and regulating, in part because subsistence rights for Aboriginal people are not guaranteed. If the community can demonstrate that these are traditional lands, then subsistence activity is permitted; otherwise, it is linked to Native Title claims, which are still relatively new and difficult to establish. However, the center and the communities are focused on keeping the country healthy and the people within it healthy. They are working hard to determine how best to link the people and their needs into the official guidelines and policies of the two World Heritage Areas (Wet Tropics and Great Barrier Reef) and to the other museums in the region as well.


Alissandra and Julien pose by a Midja, a traditional bark hut, in the Keeping Place Museum.


The small museum also shows traditional beads from the rainforest and traditional shields, made from local trees.




Shannon shows one of the jawun bicornual baskets for which the region is known. This style basket is unique to this region, and we lamented the fact that we had weeks of travel ahead and no good way to transport them on the flights.

We had a late arrival in to Cairns, later than expected. But it was just a short stay, as the next morning we'd be picking up the rest of the group for the continued trip north. First stop, the Aboriginal community of Wujal Wujal.